What's growing in your veggie plot?
Discussion
Mixed year this year, some success, more failure....
Successes:
Carrots - lubberly
Potatoes - Earlies did really well
Sweetcorn - First one last week, more coming, it's true, take a pan of boiling water out with you!!
Onions - Far, far stronger flavour than shop bought
Chilli - apache, made a lovely sauce
Failures:
(all except a couple due to lack of effort on my part, just haven't spent much time at home this summer)
Runner beans
Tomatoes
Garlic (too wet, rotted in soil)
Butternut squash
Broccoli (caterpillars got 'em)
Parsnips and onions as winter crops, looking good so far :fingers crossed: bring on next year. Going for tall raised beds, and lots and lots of mushroom compost to help counteract my fairly heavy clay.
Successes:
Carrots - lubberly
Potatoes - Earlies did really well
Sweetcorn - First one last week, more coming, it's true, take a pan of boiling water out with you!!
Onions - Far, far stronger flavour than shop bought
Chilli - apache, made a lovely sauce
Failures:
(all except a couple due to lack of effort on my part, just haven't spent much time at home this summer)
Runner beans
Tomatoes
Garlic (too wet, rotted in soil)
Butternut squash
Broccoli (caterpillars got 'em)
Parsnips and onions as winter crops, looking good so far :fingers crossed: bring on next year. Going for tall raised beds, and lots and lots of mushroom compost to help counteract my fairly heavy clay.
Since it appears only my tomatoes ( possibly cucumbers but they still have the appearance of big hairy grubs) have survived 
I got to have my only red tomato fried with breakfast the other day....very tasty 
Loads of green ones....one tomato had a big chunk eaten out of it, and I did wonder what grub might have done that.
Any ideas?
I got to have my only red tomato fried with breakfast the other day....very tasty Loads of green ones....one tomato had a big chunk eaten out of it, and I did wonder what grub might have done that.
Any ideas?
Sway said:
Mixed year this year, some success, more failure....
Successes:
Carrots - lubberly
Potatoes - Earlies did really well
Sweetcorn - First one last week, more coming, it's true, take a pan of boiling water out with you!!
Onions - Far, far stronger flavour than shop bought
Chilli - apache, made a lovely sauce
Failures:
(all except a couple due to lack of effort on my part, just haven't spent much time at home this summer)
Runner beans
Tomatoes
Garlic (too wet, rotted in soil)
Butternut squash
Broccoli (caterpillars got 'em)
Parsnips and onions as winter crops, looking good so far :fingers crossed: bring on next year. Going for tall raised beds, and lots and lots of mushroom compost to help counteract my fairly heavy clay.
How could you possibly fail with runner beans? They're probably the easiest home-grown veg of the lot! What happened with them?Successes:
Carrots - lubberly
Potatoes - Earlies did really well
Sweetcorn - First one last week, more coming, it's true, take a pan of boiling water out with you!!
Onions - Far, far stronger flavour than shop bought
Chilli - apache, made a lovely sauce
Failures:
(all except a couple due to lack of effort on my part, just haven't spent much time at home this summer)
Runner beans
Tomatoes
Garlic (too wet, rotted in soil)
Butternut squash
Broccoli (caterpillars got 'em)
Parsnips and onions as winter crops, looking good so far :fingers crossed: bring on next year. Going for tall raised beds, and lots and lots of mushroom compost to help counteract my fairly heavy clay.
This year seems to be a bad year for butternut squash - Our plants grew huge and trailed all over the place but havent produced any squash at all.
Corgettes have been great this year - I think the damp weather helps.
Our onions were also fantastic this year, as were the runner beans. I've got 10 days worth of beans frozen so far as well.
condor said:
Loads of green ones....one tomato had a big chunk eaten out of it, and I did wonder what grub might have done that.
Any ideas?
Slugs? They seem to like chomping their way through my tomatoes Any ideas?
As soon as one on the vine starts to go quite red, I'm now taking the whole bunch off and ripening them on my window sill otherwise they all get nibbled at before I can pick them.The best way to combat slugs is to go out around 10PM with a torch and an old pair of scissors. You'll probably find lots of slugs all over the garden and I'm sure you can guess what you need the scissors for 
Doing this early in the season (when you've just planted out/seeded) next year will give a dramatic reduction on slug numbers for the rest of the year.
Doing this early in the season (when you've just planted out/seeded) next year will give a dramatic reduction on slug numbers for the rest of the year.
Been on here for 96 months and this is the first time I have noticed this forum. 
Just had first batch of spuds, with my homegrown mint.
Shallots waiting to be picked.
Tomatoes and rhubarb effectively failed this year.
Strawberries only just ripening.
Chillies have only just flowered.
Too many slugs and snails this year.
Grapes have grown ALOT but not flowered, however the exotics figs, banana have done very well. So much so that the fig is producing a second crop.
Just had first batch of spuds, with my homegrown mint.
Shallots waiting to be picked.
Tomatoes and rhubarb effectively failed this year.
Strawberries only just ripening.
Chillies have only just flowered.
Too many slugs and snails this year.
Grapes have grown ALOT but not flowered, however the exotics figs, banana have done very well. So much so that the fig is producing a second crop.
Miserable crops generally this year;
Tomatoes - the entire crop lost due to blight
Climbing Beans - slow to start and only produced a couple of servings, usually I am giving them to anyone who stands still long enough.
Beetroot - not lifted yet but look more like baby beet than the real thing.
Onions - disappear!
Courgette - the only surviving plant is still just about alive, but only has 3 leaves and never flowered or fruited at all.
Brassicas - snails...
Salad - really strange as it all looked very promising but never formed hearts - almost everything bolted.
Potatoes - did get a crop of sorts, 3 meals worth from 5 x 8ft rows. What there was, was lovely but hardly any crop compared to previous years.
Success with parsley, chervil and runner beans.
No idea why - I didnt do anything very different to the last few years.
ETA - Oh! yes and the carrot was very nice....
Tomatoes - the entire crop lost due to blight
Climbing Beans - slow to start and only produced a couple of servings, usually I am giving them to anyone who stands still long enough.
Beetroot - not lifted yet but look more like baby beet than the real thing.
Onions - disappear!
Courgette - the only surviving plant is still just about alive, but only has 3 leaves and never flowered or fruited at all.
Brassicas - snails...
Salad - really strange as it all looked very promising but never formed hearts - almost everything bolted.
Potatoes - did get a crop of sorts, 3 meals worth from 5 x 8ft rows. What there was, was lovely but hardly any crop compared to previous years.
Success with parsley, chervil and runner beans.
No idea why - I didnt do anything very different to the last few years.
ETA - Oh! yes and the carrot was very nice....
Edited by Tanguero on Saturday 20th September 18:04
Last year was an experimental year to see what worked and what did not. Just had a really good sunny day so started off a new planting session. A few leeks survived the winter and frosts so replanted them to see how they would come out.
Peppers in the buckets, tomatoes in the pots, corgetts in the dustbin, salad leaves in the troughs.
I love this weather, even washed the car for the first time in 6 months, waxed, hoovered and gave the tyres a dressing. Knackered now so chilling with some pink floyd, beers and the patio doors open fully.
Peppers in the buckets, tomatoes in the pots, corgetts in the dustbin, salad leaves in the troughs.
I love this weather, even washed the car for the first time in 6 months, waxed, hoovered and gave the tyres a dressing. Knackered now so chilling with some pink floyd, beers and the patio doors open fully.
Now starting to ache a bit - dug over one of the beds and planted spuds ( first earlies only this year) and catproofed that and the onions and carrots with netting. Also mowed the lawn, turned over one of the compost bays, planted the rest of the spuds in compost sacks, repotted some herbs from last year, put up some wires to support the kiwi fruit vine, tied the monster clematis back and tidied the shed up. Now aching quite a lot, in fact.
I also moved the tray of tomato and habanero chilli seedlings from the kitchen windowsill to the greenhouse - the tomatoes were getting too leggy. Hope the chillies don't mind the move. In the greenhouse we have currently got tomatoes, chillies, peas, broad beans, climbing French beans, sweetcorn, courgettes/summer squashes, cabbages, rocket, lettuce, radishes, some strawberry plants from last year's hanging baskets, some new hanging baskets and absolutely loads of sweet peas. Almost everything has germinated, but we've got loads of seedlings and sod all in the garden to eat! Still, the raspberries and currants are coming into leaf, the strawberries are waking up and we may get a small crop of asparagus this year. We've also got some overwintered capsicums and chillies, which should give an early crop - they've been putting the odd fruit on over the winter on a windowsill, so will hopefully go berserk when reported and put in the greenhouse.
I also moved the tray of tomato and habanero chilli seedlings from the kitchen windowsill to the greenhouse - the tomatoes were getting too leggy. Hope the chillies don't mind the move. In the greenhouse we have currently got tomatoes, chillies, peas, broad beans, climbing French beans, sweetcorn, courgettes/summer squashes, cabbages, rocket, lettuce, radishes, some strawberry plants from last year's hanging baskets, some new hanging baskets and absolutely loads of sweet peas. Almost everything has germinated, but we've got loads of seedlings and sod all in the garden to eat! Still, the raspberries and currants are coming into leaf, the strawberries are waking up and we may get a small crop of asparagus this year. We've also got some overwintered capsicums and chillies, which should give an early crop - they've been putting the odd fruit on over the winter on a windowsill, so will hopefully go berserk when reported and put in the greenhouse.
Currently enmeshed in a massive raised-bed project, tripling our veggie plot space. Looks like we need about 3 tones of topsoil, and times running close for getting the work finished in time for plants to go in.
How come I do all the construction, but don't seem to get a choice about what actually goes in?
How come I do all the construction, but don't seem to get a choice about what actually goes in?
I have:-
2 x Lemon trees with fruit
Seville orange tree with fruit (rogue purchase)
Orange tree no fruit
Rosemary
2 x Parsley
Basil
Thyme
2 x Mint
3 x sweet pepper with a couple of mini peppers.
2 x chilli (and about 20 seedlings)
and 8 tomato plants
All in pots on my terrace. Last year we had tonnes of chilli's all from a mature plant I paid 4.5€ for. Thankfully everything is doing well, apart from having to remove scale from the citrus trees
2 x Lemon trees with fruit
Seville orange tree with fruit (rogue purchase)
Orange tree no fruit
Rosemary
2 x Parsley
Basil
Thyme
2 x Mint
3 x sweet pepper with a couple of mini peppers.
2 x chilli (and about 20 seedlings)
and 8 tomato plants
All in pots on my terrace. Last year we had tonnes of chilli's all from a mature plant I paid 4.5€ for.
Thankfully everything is doing well, apart from having to remove scale from the citrus trees 
My leeks have overwintered well and are now ready to harvest. Onions doing well too. Planted first of the Charlotte spuds last weekend and also broad beans (not had much success at doing them late Autumn). It will all kick off next weekend 
Happy growing all - let's see more photos this year.
Happy growing all - let's see more photos this year.
I had a bit of a good result at the weekend - Having spent the best part of 12 months looking out for a good second hand greenhouse, I was offered one on Friday. Collected it at the weekend and spent all day sunday re-building it.
Should be enough room for half a dozen grow bags in which we're going to put some peppers and tomatos.
Should be enough room for half a dozen grow bags in which we're going to put some peppers and tomatos.
prand said:
I've just been pointed at this thread, as I was asking about any hints & tips for my newly aquired allotment. Some interesting reports here...
I'm hoping to start planting potatoes, onions and carrots as we clear the plot.
I'll post up pics to sho how I am progressing.
Grow your onoins from "sets" rather than seed. You'll need to cover then with netting to stop the birds pulling them out though. The one annoying thing is that the sets wont keep until next year and there are 100+ in each bag from the garden center.I'm hoping to start planting potatoes, onions and carrots as we clear the plot.
I'll post up pics to sho how I am progressing.
Corgettes are very easy to grow from seed but make sure you give them plenty of space when you plant them out. The spines on the stems help to protect them from the slugs too.
Runner beans are also very easy.
Goochie said:
Corgettes are very easy to grow from seed but make sure you give them plenty of space when you plant them out. The spines on the stems help to protect them from the slugs too.
I grew courgettes last year from seed, but discovered that the pots I was growing them were too small. I think an 80litre dustbin should be big enough room for one plant.Photos:
Greenhouse stuff:
Cabbages:
Climbing french beans, sweetcorn, overwintered herbs:
Sweet peas and hanging baskets:
Peas, broad beans, tomatoes, Habanero peppers:
Courgettes / summer squashes:
Hoping for some early strawberries from these:
Overwintered chilli/sweet peppers:
Rocket, lettuce, radishes:
Onion sets:
Blackcurrants:
Summer raspberries:
Autumn raspberries:
Rhubarb:
Strawberries:
Spuds and onions & carrots
Greenhouse stuff:
Cabbages:
Climbing french beans, sweetcorn, overwintered herbs:
Sweet peas and hanging baskets:
Peas, broad beans, tomatoes, Habanero peppers:
Courgettes / summer squashes:
Hoping for some early strawberries from these:
Overwintered chilli/sweet peppers:
Rocket, lettuce, radishes:
Onion sets:
Blackcurrants:
Summer raspberries:
Autumn raspberries:
Rhubarb:
Strawberries:
Spuds and onions & carrots
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